Lives in Cricket No 38 - Lionel Robinson

19 The success of Lionel in developing mining in Australia led to the doors of many a boardroom being opened to him; he lost his reputation as a financial ‘wide-boy’ and became a respected member of the business community. By the Great War, he and his colleagues in the Group had fingers in many pies; most of Australia’s biggest mining companies had one of Robinson’s men on the board acting in a managerial capacity. The outbreak of the war more or less brought Lionel’s personal business life to an end at the early age of 48, as the markets in mining were severely disrupted and business activities in general were drastically curtailed. After the war, he did not resume activity; if he was not already suffering from the cancer that would see him die in 1922 he had at most a couple of years of relatively good health left to him. He did, however, act as a committee member of the London Stock Exchange from 1915 until June 1921, when he resigned due to his worsening health. The Australian Dictionary of Biography is not being hagiographical when it sums up Lionel’s achievements as a stockbroker in both Australia and England as ‘extraordinary’. However, his talents in the world of business have tended to be overshadowed by the achievements of his brother, W.S. (see below), who outshone his successes in the long run, his achievements as a racehorse owner and breeder and, in England at least, by his role as a bankroller of high quality country house cricket at Old Buckenham Hall. William Sydney ‘W.S.’ Robinson Although all five Robinson brothers achieved measures of eminence in their professional lives, the career of W.S. outlasted and outshone them all. He showed little enthusiasm for his studies at Carlton, Scotch College and Hawthorn Grammar School but followed his brother, Gerald, through agricultural studies at Longerenong Residential College and joined him on the family fruit farm in 1894. He quickly became disillusioned at the poor prospects and, in 1896, left the farm and joined the Melbourne Age newspaper. After an apprenticeship of four years he replaced his father as commercial editor. He was still unsettled, however, and, using contacts that he had made as a journalist, he invested in a struggling knitting mill originally known as Alexander Stewart & Co Ltd; in moving into business he enlisted the help of two of his older brothers - Lionel gave him a loan while Frederick agreed to return from managing a timber company in Western Australia to co-direct the new company. The success of this firm led to the creation of one of Australia’s largest textile companies, Yarra Falls Ltd, with Frederick as managing director, 20 while W.S. found himself being drawn into contact with the Baillieu family, both as a professional partner and socially. This contact became closer when Lionel invited W.S. to join that highly significant trip to Broken Hill in 1905. Following two years learning the ropes in studying the business of mining, W.S. was offered a partnership in Lionel’s stockbroking company in London. 20 Lionel’s obituary in the Times credited him with helping to finance and develop the textile industry in Australia but this had been small beer for the rich financier; his role was limited to the loaning to W.S. the sum of £2,200 to aid him in the setting up of the Yarra Falls company. His brothers, Frederick, Gerald and W.S., all played more significant roles in that field than Lionel. The early life of Lionel Robinson